Winnie
by orchidluv
Summary: "I am a little black raincloud, hovering under the honey tree! I'm only a little black raincloud, pay no attention to little me."


**Giving this one a shot...Hope you do too!**

 **I don't own anything Twilight. SM owns it all, I'm just messing around! I hope you enjoy it.**

Today was a particularly breezy day. June brought ninety degree weather to southern Maine earlier than usual this year but the way the leaves rustled outside my dining room window, I knew a thunderstorm was on the horizon. The clouds were quickly shielding the sun and the air was cooling rapidly.

This was going to be a big one.

I stood from my stool at the peninsula island and made my way to my 'junk cupboard' to find a lighter, candles, and a couple flashlights then set them down in a neat line.

Walking through the one story ranch, I found Alice sitting with her legs tucked under her petite body, her fingers tapping her temple repeatedly.

Looking down on her in amused fondness, I said, "Think, think, think. Oh help and bother, I'm stuck."

Alice glanced at me, fingers pausing their movements and mock glared at me.

"I can't remember what I was supposed to do today. I know it was important but it won't come to me!" Then she stuck her tongue out at me and muttered, "Think, think, think."

I snickered at my girl and keeping with the commentary I said, "Tut tut, it looks like rain!"

Alice turned her head to look out the living room window adjacent to the couch she was perched upon and sighed. She hated thunderstorms. Whenever the power went out she would curl up in my arms, trembling in fright, while I rubbed my hand up and down her back.

"Great." She dragged the word out before sighing again. My beautiful pixie continued trying to remember her something important.

"You know, it couldn't have been that important if you can't remember it." I pointed out.

"But it was!" She exclaimed, tossing her arms up in the air in frustration. "It's like a word on the tip of your tongue...You _know_ what you're trying to say but you just can't spit it out!"

I settled down beside her and pulled her to me. She sank into me contentedly and placed a tiny hand on my leg letting her fingers curl into the loose fabric of my sweatpants.

"It'll come to you, Alli-cat."

At that moment the house grew dark, black clouds covering the sky menacingly. Alice squeaked and hid her face into my shoulder when the first boom of thunder rattled through the house. My Nana always said, 'Just Uncle Sumner dumpin' a load of rocks!' in her heavy Maine accent. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her close, petting her chin length black hair.

"I should go light the candles and grab the flashlights, sweetie." I murmured to the top of her head, placing a kiss there.

Her bright chocolate eyes met mine, wide and scared. "Please come right back, Mama." Her small voice and shaking.

I couldn't figure out why thunderstorms upset her so much. We were quite the opposite when it came to them. Whereas I loved listening to the rolling drums in the sky, Alice cowered.

"I promise, I'll be right back. Do you want a bottle of water before we can't open the fridge again for a while?"

She was shaking her head before I finished the question. "Koolaid! I need koolaid for this." She said seriously.

I giggled at her then untangled myself from her clinging arms, heading back to the kitchen to grab our Thunder Dunder tools, Alice's koolaid, and a couple bottles of water just in case. The air conditioning in the house would keep it and us cool long after the power cut off. We knew not to even bother hoping that it wouldn't. It never failed to shut off anytime the wind blew too hard, there were just too many pine trees near the power lines.

Our small ranch sat a few hundred yards off the road on six acres of wooded land. Only a small acre of that was actually yard that I kept mowed. We had decorated the front dooryard with large hydrangea bushes, honeysuckle, and bleeding hearts. The walk to the front door from the sandy driveway was red brick framed with old railroad ties. Both Alice and myself loved to garden. We would go out on our hands and knees in old clothing with a five gallon pail and weed the gardens with our bare hands. It was cathartic, communing with nature in such a way - bees buzzing around us, hummingbirds zipping from flower to flower drinking their fill.

Sitting back down on the buttery soft brown leather sofa, I placed the koolaid, water, and flashlights on the coffee table in front of us. I was only gone a few moments but Alice launched herself at me like I'd gone on a three month camping trip.

Once she'd released me from her bear hug she stuck her lower lip out and looked up at me from under her lashes in an adorable little pout, "What about lunch?"

I laughed and ruffled her hair, to which she scowled, and said, "Okay, Winnie. What do you want for lunch, tea and honey?"

She giggled madly at me, storm forgotten momentarily, and ran to the kitchen. Her tiny footsteps pitter pattering on the laminate flooring the whole way.

I loved my little Alli-cat so much it felt as if my heart would burst some days. Her father had died when she was just a few weeks old when his logging truck overturned after swerving to miss a bull moose up near Moosehead Lake. She looked so much like him it hurt and filled me with love all at the same time.

As Alice ate her peanut butter and honey sandwich, I sat back on the stool at the counter and thought about my late husband. Embry was the love of my life. His kind, shy, sweet nature was what drew me to him. He so reminded me of myself with our blushing and stuttering.

Alice inherited his straight nose and deeply tanned skin, though hers was just a shade lighter thanks to my general paleness. She had my eye color but Embry's wide smile and almond shaped eyes. Her hair matched his as well. I wish he was here to watch our beautiful girl grow up. She was such a smart little thing at six years old and I knew she would have her father wrapped around her pinkie finger. Her big compassionate heart would have given Embry a run for his money, for sure. Her love of all things fuzzy, her care for her family and friends...I sighed. She was perfect.

I was brought back to the present by a tug to my sleeve. Alice was looking at me with tears in her eyes and I scooped her up, realizing that I'd lost myself to my thoughts while the storm raged on outside.

Alice stuck her face into my neck and held her sobs, clinging to me tightly as I walked us back to the couch. I hummed different songs from her favorite movie, starting with _I Am a Little Black Raincloud_ and ending with _Winnie the Pooh_ , as she drifted to sleep in my arms. The power flickered off shorty after and I carried her to bed, placing her favorite stuffed animal in her arms...A gray wolf with black spots on his back and black muzzle. She sleepily hugged the wolf and let out a hum of happiness.

The storm passed through the night with little damage to our yard and the next day dawned sunny but cooler. Alice woke refreshed and had all but forgotten about her 'something important'.


End file.
